Slide fastener ornament and supporting means therefor



March 17, 1953 A. G. RINEHART 2,631,347

SLIDE FASTENER ORNAMENT AND SUPPORTING MEANS THEREFOR Filed July 21, 1949 y ma Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE SLIDE FASTENER ORNAMENT AND SUP- PORTING MEANS THEREFOR 3 Claims.

This invention relates to slide fasteners and relates more particularly to the combination with a slide fastener of a pull tab of special construction which is arranged to form a sup-port for an ornament which covers the fastener .slide and which is easily detachablefrom the slide so that one ornament may be replaced with another.

Aslide fastener shield of this general character is disclosed in my co-pendin applications Serial No. 57,530, filed October 30, 1948, now Patent No. 2,570,378, October 9, 1951, and Serial No.

73,400, filed January 28, 1949, and the present application contains a number of specific improvements in the structures of the earlier application.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a novel supporting means for an ornament arranged to overlie the fastener slide and which will retain the slide and ornament n any desired position and prevent or at least largely reduce movement in relation to the body of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved pull tab for a slide fastener which supports an ornament and which is arranged to cause the ornament to flatly engage the body at all times.

The ornament of the present invention has parti-cular application to slid fasteners on mens sport shirts which are usually formed with collars'not generally adaptable for receiving an ordinary tie and yet this absence of a tie gives the shirt a certain untidy or undressed appearance. The improved ornament of the present invention not only conceals the slide of the fastener, but also functions as a decorative element which introduces a new style in mens apparel. It is equally effective whether the ornament is disposed in its uppermost position with the front shirt opening entirely closed, or in a lowered position with the upper section of the garment in the open position of less formal attire.

The decorative element of the present invention has many uses in addition to its application to sport shirts for men. It is effective inconnection with any garment openings for mens as well as womens garments whereina slide fastener is employed, and always gives the garment a, more finished and neater appearance than is possible with the usual exposed fastener slide.

Another important object of the invention is to provide means for spacing the pull tab from the body of the garment, the ornament having 'a central recessed'area in its rearsurface which receives the tab in secured relation. .The sections of such .rear surface. on both sides of this central section are the parts which contact the body of the wearer and this arrangement prevents rotative movement of the ornament on a vertical axis.

The arrangement is such that rotative movement of the ornament on a vertical or on a horizontal axis centrally of the ornament is largely eliminated. The device of the present invention is most effective in connection with slide fasteners of the self-locking variety and the novel pull tab which may easily replace the usual pull tab also provides this self-locking effect. The contour of this pull tab which supports th ornament is such that normal washing or dry cleaning operations are not affected. The ornament is'removed and replaced with another with ease and facility.

The usual pull tab is supported from the fastener slide and closely overlies th latter. When it is desired to open or close the fastener, it is raised from its normally vertical position,

thus unlocking the slide for travel after which the tab is pushed upwardly or pulled downwardly.

In accordance with the present invention, the tab is of special contour and shortly below its upper end, which is its point of attachment with the slide, it is oifset outwardly a fraction of an inch and its lower section is longer and is curved towards the body of the wearer. This contour allows it to be readily attached to the ornament which is formed with vertically spaced openings defining a central section behind which the tab is moved, the surface of the rear wall of the ornament above and below the central section being recessed inwardly from the latter to permit the tab to move inwardly as aforesaid. On each side of this central section the rear Wall i bowed outwardly toward the body so that the tab when in place lies well within this recessed portion and the bowed portions contact the body of t e wearer.

This arrangement prevents rotation of the ornament on a vertical axis and it also prevents any substantial rotation on a horizontal axis. It

also largely eliminates the metal-to-metal contact out.

struction and an ornament whose rear face is recessed as described is such as to move the center of gravity of the ornament substantially outwardly and to create a rotation of the pull-tab inwardly toward the body. This allows the locked relation of the automatic lock or the conventional pin-lock to be maintained under normal conditions of activity.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a front elevation of a slide for a multiple fastener having a slide with a conventional automatic lock and being provided with the improved pull tab of the present invention, the view showing the ornament in broken lines.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the rear surface of the attached ornament.

Fig, 4 shows the pull tab as applied to a pin- 7 lock type of slide.

The fastener includes the usual chain of fastener elements shown at H] which are secured to flexible tapes. The fastener elements are arranged to be, joined by a slide ll of the selflocking variety. That is to say, a locking member I2 is hinged at IS on the slide and is formed with inwardly directed prongs M which enters the interstices between the fastener elements for the purpose of locking the slide against movement. A spring (not shown) urges the free end of the locking member to this locked position. All of the foregoing is conventional and forms no part of the present invention. The invention of the present application is also adaptable for use in connection with a fastener slide of the pin-lock variety as distinguished from the automatic lock just described.

The usual pull tab for raising and lowering the slide is absent from the present arrange ment and in its place there is provided a pull tab of special construction. This tab may be stamped from sheet metal or may be formed from plastic or other sheet material. There is formed on each side of the locking member recesses it which receive inwardly directed prongs ll formed integrally with the upper end of the pull tab which is bifurcated as shown at 18.

Thus, the pull tab may be raised through an arc with the prongs I] as the pivot point. When so raised to a substantially horizontal position and pulled slightly outwardly the locking prongs become disengaged. Normally, however, this upper section 2| of the pull tab is in the vertical position shown and is generally parallel with the chains of fasteners.

Continuing downwardly from this upper section 2| the tab has an outwardly extending section 22, which may be either curved or straight, and below this latter section the tab has a relatively long section 23 which is convexly curved when viewed from the front. Y

In the upper part of this section there are formed two spaced dimples '24 which may be in the triangular shape shown and which form shoulders on the rear face of the tab.

The ornament 29 is similar to that shown in Fig. 1 of. my co-pending application Serial No. 73,400 and comprises a back plate 38 having a continuous flange 3| which receives a similar flange 32 on the front wall 33 of the ornament. This front wall may be suitably ornamented or it may have a decorative fabric covering. The contour of the back plate 38 is of importance.

There is a central section 3 3 and below this section a generally rectangular opening 35 is provided and above the same an elongated opening 36 is formed the upper section of which receives the locking element l2. Immediately below opening the wall is depressed as shown at 31 and the upper central section is similarly recessed. By virtue of the curved contour of the pull tab it is readily inserted through opening 36, passing to the rear of central section 34 and out through lower opening 35. For the purpose of preventing relative movement between the tab and the openings, suitable spring or resilient means may be positioned within the ornament such as a block of sponge rubber 4|. On each side of the central vertical section of the back wall defined by 34, 35 and 36, such rear wall has a higher contour, as shown at 42 than central section 34, so that when the pull tab is in place asvshown in Fig. 2 the major portion thereof is disposed inwardly of such raised portions 42. The lower ends of such raised portions are shown at 43 where they merge into the lower central recessed portion 31. This latter area is spaced from the body of the wearer as will be apparent from an examination of Fig. 2 and the chains of the fastener may be disposed in this area whereas the raised portions adjacent these points 43 may contact the body of the wearer. The shoulders formed by dimples 24 are spaced apart a distance equal to the height of section 34.

In use, the pull tab I5 has been attached to the locking member l2 in the usual fashion. In some instances, the inwardly directed prongs I'I will go through and through. The tab then hangs in the manner shown in Fig. 2. To attach the ornament, the lower end of the tab may be raised slightl and engage upper central surface iil of the back of the ornament. The ornament is now raised upwardly and the tab passes through openings 36 and 35 until the shoulders formed by dimples 24 engage the upper and lower edges of central section 34. Resilient member 5! now urges against the tab and it is locked in place. Moreover, the lock of the fastener prevents vertical movement downward of the slide and the ornament. 'When used on a shirt, if the ornament is at the collar portion to serve as a tie there is a tendency for the lower end. of the slide to move outwardly from the body which would normally tend to unlock the slide. In view of the pendulous mounting of the tab, however, this does not occur.

Release of the ornament is effected by depressing the lower end of the tab suiiiciently to clear the lower shoulder.

It will benoted that one of the functions of the upper straight section 2! of the pull tab which lies generally parallel with the outer face of the slide is to limit inward movement of the pull tab toward the body by contact of the lower part of this section with such face. In this position the lower terminal 42 of the tab is spaced from the chains and from the body.

The ornament shown in Fig. 3 differs from that shown in Fig. 2 only in that a flat spring 44 is substituted for the resilient member M. The spring may be spot welded at its lower end to the inner surface of the back plate.

In Fig. 4 the slide 45 has a ring 46 forming a journal bearing for a cross pin ll at the upper end of the pull tab it. The pull tab has a pin is directed inwardly at right angles to the general plane of the pull tab so when the tab is in the position of Fig. 4 the pin enters the interstices between the fastener elements and locks-the slide against movement. The upper section 50 of the slide is straight and normally lies substan tially parallel with the vertical face of the slide. It then has an outwardly extending portion 5| which may be straight or curved and its lower section 52 which extends over substantially twothirds its length is convexly curved when viewed from the front and its lower end in its normal position is somewhat spaced from the fastener chain 53. Section 52 also has the spaced shoulder 54.

The ornament is secured in the same manner as earlier described and here again it is not necessary to raise the tab during attachment or normal use.

While two forms or embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction and arrangement incidental to specific applications thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiments shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated forms or embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of an ornament for covering the slide of a slide fastener and a pull tab for detachably supporting such ornament, the pull tab having a lower convexly curved section and an upper, inwardly disposed section whose upper portion is pivotally carried on such locking means, said upper portion lying generally parallel with the face of the slide, the ornament being provided with a back plate having two vertically spaced openings and recessed portions above the upper opening and below the lower opening, the lower curved section of the tab passing through said openings and being engaged by the central portion of the back plate between the openings, spaced shoulders on the tab engaging the vertically spaced edges of said central portion and spring means carried within the ornament engaging the tab and urging it against said central section.

2. The combination with a slide fastener having opposed chains of fasteners, a slide for joining the fasteners and means for supporting a downwardly depending pull tab, of an ornament arranged to overlie the slide and a pull tab carried by the slide and arranged for releasable attachment with the ornament, the ornament being provided with a back plate having two vertically spaced openings and recessed portions above the upper opening and below the lower opening, the lower section of the tab passing through said openings and being engaged by the central portion of the back plate between the openings, spaced shoulders on the tab engaging the vertically spaced edges of said central portion and yieldable means carried by the ornament for urging the tab against said central section and to permit release of the tab, the center of gravity of the suspended ornament being such as to cause its lower end to move against the body of the wearer, the chains of the fastener being arranged to be disposed in the lower depressed portions, while the raised portions on either side thereof rest against the body of the wearer.

3. The combination of an ornament for covering the slide of a slide fastener and a pull tab for detachably supporting such ornament, the pull tab having a lower, convexly curved section, an upper inwardly disposed section whose upper portion is pivotally carried on such locking means and an outwardly extending, intermediate section. said upper section normally lying generally parallel with the face of the slide, the ornament being provided with a back plate having a plurality of vertically spaced openings and recessed portions above the uppermost opening and below the lowermost opening, the lower curved section of the tab passing through said openings and being engaged by the central portion of the back plate between the openings, spaced shoulders on the tab engaging the vertically spaced edges of said central portion and a resilient member carried by the ornament for engaging the tab for urging the tab against said central section to prevent movement between the tab on said central section, such resilient member being depressible to permit detachment of the tab relative to the ornament.

ALAN G. RINEHART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,301,102 Cary Apr. 22, 1919 2,019,220 Gammons Oct. 29, 1935 2,223,347 Axthelm Dec. 3, 1940 2,292,484 Schwartz Aug. 11, 1942 

